John Mentha

John Ulysse Mentha (26 January 1893 – 9 June 1974) was a French resistance fighter and footballer who played as a defender for CASG Paris in the late 1910s.

Playing career Born to Swiss parents on 26 January 1893 in Colombier, Neuchâtel, John Mentha worked as an insurer, and thus, he joined CASG Paris, which was the club of the bank Société Générale, where he eventually established himself as the team's captain.

During the 1918–19 season, the 25-year-old Mentha led his side in the second edition of the Coupe de France; in the semifinals against Stade Rennais at Roazhon Park on 2 February, he helped his side to a 4–3 victory, with the local press describing him as "the personification of consistency". Two months later, on 6 April, he started in the final against the defending champions Olympique de Pantin at the Parc des Princes, where together with Jean Boyer, Louis Hatzfeld, and Émilien Devic, he helped CASG achieve a 3–2 victory after extra-time, thus becoming only the second captain to lift a Coupe de France trophy. The following day, the journalists of French newspaper L'Auto (the forerunner of L'Équipe) stated that CASG's defensive pair of "Frizon-Mentha is one of the best in France".

Death Mentha died in Mont-de-Marsan on 9 June 1974, at the age of 81.

Honours CASG Paris Coupe de France: Champions (1): 1918–19